Shloka 3.55.34
रावणस्य सीताप्रलोभनम् (Ravana’s Attempt to Allure Sita)
अलं व्रीडेन वैदेहि धर्मलोपकृतेन च।।3.55.34।।आर्षोऽयं दैवनिष्यन्दो यस्त्वामभिगमिष्यति।
alaṃ vrīḍena vaidehi dharma-lopa-kṛtena ca | ārṣo 'yaṃ daiva-niṣyando yas tvām abhigamiṣyati || 3.55.34 ||
“O Vaidehī, do not be held back by shame, nor by the thought that this violates dharma. This union that comes to you is a fate-sent gift—approved, as it were, by the seers.”
O Sita! you need not feel shamed that it is a violation of righteous conduct. Take it as god-send which has the approval of sages.
The verse is a classic example of adharma rationalized as dharma: Rāvaṇa tries to relabel coercion and violation as “fate” and “ṛṣi-approved,” teaching that true dharma cannot contradict consent, fidelity, and rightful conduct.
Rāvaṇa attempts to overcome Sītā’s resistance by arguing she should not feel shame or see it as unrighteous, presenting the situation as divinely ordained.
Sītā’s moral clarity is implied: she recognizes the difference between genuine dharma and manipulative justification.